Shul News & Notes
Gift Shop Stocks New Seder Plates and Fun Matza Aprons And Sets
Hold on to your yarmulkes, the first Passover Seder is on Wednesday, April 8. For those brave souls making Seder at home, the shul’s Gift Shop has just received attractive new Seder plates to accommodate the ceremonial dishes, one of them with a matching matza plate. The set would make a lovely addition to your Seder table, or a meaningful gift for your host.
The Gift Shop has also stocked those fun Passover aprons in a matza pattern. Whether you choose the apron alone or the set that includes an apron, pot holder and oven mitt, your gift will amuse and delight your Seder host, or add to the festivities at a Seder in your own home.
For these and other Judaica items, call the shul at 631-477-0232 and leave a message for Sara Bloom.
The Book Circle Reviews Compelling Story Of Star-Crossed Lovers
The Book Circle will meet on Wednesday, March 18, at 2 p.m., in the shul’s community room, to review the March selection, The Convert, by Stefan Hartmans. This is a work of fiction based on facts excerpted from fragments of the Cairo Genizah, a repository of more than 300,000 manuscripts and documents that had been stored in the upper chamber of a synagogue in Old Cairo. Hartmans tells the story of star-crossed lovers, forced to flee their village in order to be together. The novel recreates a chaotic world of love and hate and the anti-Semitism that persists a millennium later.
For more information about the Book Circle and the selection of the month, call the synagogue at 631-477-0232, and leave a message for Susan Rosenstreich.
Join Us For Early Shabbat Service On March 20, Followed By Dinner
Following the success of the shul’s early Shabbat services on Jan. 24 and Feb. 21, both followed by a Shabbat dinner, the “experiment” will continue one more time, on Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m. Please join us.
The idea behind the experiment is to welcome Shabbat during the dark winter months of January, February and March closer to the actual time that Shabbat officially begins, not at the 7:30 p.m. time that Shabbat services traditionally begin at our shul. That idea combined with a suggestion that Shabbat dinners are popular with congregants led to what shul president Susan Rosenstreich called “the experiment” — early Shabbat followed by a meal together.
Please RSVP to ctigreenport@gmail.com so we’ll know to expect you on March 20.
Purim Celebration Combines With Shabbat Observance, March 13
Once again, our shul will celebrate the holiday of Purim with the reading of the Book of Esther (the Megillah). As always, shul members are invited to come in costume and to make joyful noises with boos and graggers at every mention of Haman’s name as the story unfolds. But here’s a change: In order to accommodate Rabbi Gadi’s annual visit to Israel, our celebration will be held on Friday, March 13, three days after the official holiday on March 10. The celebration will be combined with our traditional Friday evening Shabbat observance, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Surely, most of us know the story of Purim, how Queen Esther saved the Jewish people from execution by the evil Haman, who was preparing to kill the Jews for not bowing to him. Surely, as well, all of us have feasted on hamantaschen, the traditional pastry for the holiday, a tri-cornered fruit-filled confection shaped to resemble Haman’s hat — deliciously evil. Instead of revisiting these familiar themes, The Shofar will offer a related and compelling anecdote.
Recently, The Shofar learned of an occurrence, which serves, we think, as an incredible sequel to the Biblical story. The incident took place during the Nuremburg Trial in 1946, when military and political leaders of the Nazi party were brought to account for the part each one played in crimes against humanity during the Holocaust. As Julius Streicher, one of the convicted Nazis, was led to the gallows in Oct. 16, 1946, he inexplicably shouted out, “Purimfest.” According to historians, Streicher himself made the connection between what was happening to him, an arch-enemy of the Jewish people about to be hanged, and what had happened to Haman a long time ago.
In the Purim story, the Book of Esther ends with the hanging of Haman and his 10 sons. The trial at Nuremburg came to a close with 10 leaders condemned to pay for their crimes by hanging. It might be said that although God is not mentioned in the Book of Esther, his presence there manifested itself all those centuries later.
The Book Circle Takes A Humorous Look At Love — And Chaos
For a bit of fun and tender mercies, the Book Circle will take a humorous look at love at the Wednesday, Feb. 19, noontime meeting at the shul. On the agenda is And The Bride Closed The Door by Ronit Matalon, “a light tale that belies its heft,” according to The New York Times Book Review.
In this novel, a young bride shuts herself up in as bedroom on her wedding day, refusing to get married. Oh, the ups and downs of love — some chaotic, some moving. The bride’s family hovers outside the locked door, not knowing what to do, or why this situation is taking place. Meanwhile, they try an array of unusual tactics to ensure the wedding will take place.
For more information about the Book Circle and the selection of the month, call the synagogue at 631-477-0232, and leave a message for Suzi Rosenstreich.
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